Arsenal are firmly frontrunners in the transfer race for Declan Rice who looks destined to leave West Ham this summer. The 24-year-old has a contract at the London Stadium until 2024 but he has no current intention of extending and therefore a departure at the end of the season appears inevitable as the Hammers will want to avoid losing their captain on a free transfer next summer.
London rivals Chelsea are another club interested in Rice given their long-standing history with the midfielder. In his early years, Rice was a part of the prestigious Cobham academy but left the club when he was 14. Since his emergence into the first-team at West Ham, Chelsea have tracked his progress and with the Blues possibly in need of midfield options, he could seal a sensational return this summer.
However, the arrival of Enzo Fernandez and the likely contract renewal of N'Golo Kante could halt any further interest. The Gunners meanwhile, despite poaching Jorginho from Chelsea in January, are desperate for a new central midfielder who can be the long-term successor to Thomas Partey.
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Rice has therefore been earmarked as the top transfer priority for Arsenal and Edu this summer, football.london understands. In the January transfer window a similar label was placed on Shakhtar Donetsk star Mykhailo Mudryk by the Gunners and despite two lucrative bids, the 22-year-old signed for Chelsea instead.
Regular dialogue and interest had been prominent from Arsenal in Mudryk for several months before the winter window, but Chelsea swooped in, made their interest clear and paid the asking price all in the space of a few hours. Once again, Arsenal have laid down the groundwork for Rice to join but there is some worry at Emirates Stadium a transfer repeat could happen.
According to The Independent, regarding their pursuit of Rice, Arsenal are conscious of how Chelsea beat them to Mudryk. It also brought some frustrated comments from senior figures about how Chelsea are getting involved in everyone’s business.
Ultimately, Edu's backup plan was to bring Leandro Trossard to the club instead of Mudryk and it is one that has worked out superbly in hindsight. As a proven Premier League player though, it would be difficult to imagine that scenario reoccurring if Chelsea were to again beat Arsenal in a major transfer race, this time for Rice.
Although, a number of other central midfielders could be on the market in the summer with Brighton duo Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo on interest to both London clubs. Liverpool and Manchester United are also hopeful of signing Mac Allister who could leave the south coast this summer if a suitable offer is placed with Chelsea very interested, as football.london understands.
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